Authorities advocate new ways of sweeping tombs

By Wang Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-29 07:54

A man mourns at Babaoshan cemetery on Saturday. Zou Hong / China Daily

Authorities are encouraging tomb sweepers not to set out offerings of food, alcohol or money to commemorate the dead as families began preparing to visit and clean their ancestors' tombs on Saturday, eight days before Tomb Sweeping Festival.

Jiang Xiaogang, secretary general of the Beijing Funeral Association, urged tomb sweepers to pay their respects to the dead with flowers rather than food or money, because as the weather warms up, food may rot easily and money might lead to fire accidents.

According to statistics from the Beijing civil affairs bureau, 346,000 tomb sweepers and 62,000 cars visited 111 cemeteries on Saturday.

The bureau estimates that as many as 2.5 million mourners could turn out during the upcoming three-day Tomb Sweeping holiday and the following weekend.

Jiang said Babaoshan cemetery - the largest in Beijing - collects around 20 tons of offerings during Tomb Sweeping Festival period and staff have to work overtime for two weeks just to clean it.

"People should use civilized and environmentally friendly methods to honor people who passed away," he said.

Traditional Chinese beliefs hold that the spirits of deceased ancestors look after their families. Families make offerings of food and money to these ancestors to ensure prosperity.

But as the country modernizes cemetery authorities are advocating alternative ways to commemorate the dead. Babaoshan has set up a series of new policies to encourage people to honor the dead with silk or flowers.

The cemetery bought 1,000 chrysanthemums and set up a service center 200 meters from the cemetery so that tomb sweepers can use the money meant for offerings to buy chrysanthemums. A staff worker at Babaoshan told METRO that on Saturday morning that the center sold 40 chrysanthemums.

Babaoshan also set up a virtual cemetery before Tomb Sweeping Festival. People who can't go to the cemetery in person can show their respect through virtual offerings and by burning virtual incense online for free.

Volunteers from universities and street offices organized by the Beijing civil affairs bureau patrolled the cemetery giving out pamphlets advocating the new ways of making offerings.

Wang Shulin poured a bottle of erguotou - a local brand alcohol - on his father's tombstone and put a plate of baozi beside it last Saturday.

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"I have been sweeping my father's tomb like this for more than 10 years," he said. "But recently I saw reports from the media and pamphlets advocating newer ways of sweeping the tomb and I realized using flowers to show my sorrow is a good idea."

He said he will consider buying fresh flowers for his father next Tomb Sweeping Festival.

Around 70,000 people die in Beijing annually and Beijing's cemeteries have enough space to accommodate the dead for another 50 years, Beijing News reported.